Avionics display systems have been deployed aboard aircraft to visually convey a considerable amount of flight information in an intuitive and readily comprehendible manner. In conventional avionics display systems, much of the information is visually expressed on cockpit displays, such as a multipurpose control display unit (MCDU). A pilot may use the MCDU during visual flight rules (VFR) flight in order to report to air traffic control (ATC) the location of the aircraft in relation to a visual reference point (VRP).
That is, during a VFR flight, VRPs are used extensively to travel from one point to another or even during approach and landing. For example, a pilot may be required to report the position of an aircraft to ATC, the distance from a particular VRP and/or when the pilot can see a particular VRP. In certain cases, a pilot may be asked to report time (e.g. a certain number of minutes) before and/or after passing a particular VRP. In other cases, a pilot may want to fly towards a particular VRP en route to the desired destination. In each of the above scenarios, the pilot may be required to be familiar with the location of the potential VRPs that ATC may inquire about and be able to select their location on the or MCDU. The pilot then uses the MCDU to generate the flight data requested by air traffic control. Thus, in addition to being familiar with the location of the potential VRPs, the pilot's workload is increased during flight.
To address these problems, the pilot may preprogram a flight plan with references to the known locations of VRPs within a visible range. However, this still requires the pilot to be familiar with the VRPs and their locations. In addition, the above problems are exacerbated when a VRP is under fading lights (e.g. dusk or night-time). For example, certain VRPs such as lakes and rivers may not be visible and therefore little value. This preprogramming of the flight plan with references to the VRPs further increases the preflight workload of the pilot. In addition, the VRPs may clutter the display distracting the pilot from visualizing other significant information such as weather, terrain, traffic, ADS-B IN information, and etc.
Although such systems represent improvements in avionics technology, further enhancements to cockpit displays to make them more intuitive and easier to use may be desirable. Thus, it would be desirable to provide a system and method for readily displaying and providing flight data (e.g. distance, bearing, arrival time, and etc.) associated with one or more VRPs to a pilot. It would be further desirable to differentiate between day-time and night-time VRPs. It would be still further desirable to alert a pilot when a VRP becomes visible by altering the color of the graphical representation of the VRP.